Methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing for specification or autodiscovery of device under test (DUT) topology information

Abstract

The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information and for using the DUT topology information to generate DUT-topology-specific test results. One exemplary method includes, providing for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information associated with or more devices under test (DUT). The method further includes transmitting test packets to the at least one DUT. The method further includes receiving packets transmitted from or through the at least one DUT. The method further includes using the DUT topology information and the received packets to generate DUT-topology-specific test results.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for specifying and utilizing device under test (DUT) topology information, the method comprising:
 at one or more network equipment test devices:
 providing for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information specifying a plurality of DUTs and interconnections between the DUTs in a data communications network; 
 generating and transmitting test packets from a first transmit port of the one or more network equipment test devices destined to a receive port of the one or more network equipment test devices by way of at least one DUT of the plurality of DUTs, which route the test packets according to a network protocol for the data communications network; 
 receiving, at the receive port of the one or more network equipment test devices, result packets transmitted from or through the at least one DUT of the plurality of DUTs in response to the test packets; and 
 using the DUT topology information and the result packets to generate DUT-topology-specific test results. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  wherein providing for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information includes providing a graphical user interface that allows a test administrator to graphically define DUTs and interconnections between the DUTs. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1  wherein providing for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information includes providing for user specification of network tap points between DUTs. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein providing for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information includes transmitting topology discovery messages to the at least one DUT, wherein the topology discovery messages include one or more of: packet Internet groper (PING) packets, address resolution protocol (ARP) packets, or simple network management protocol (SNMP) packets. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  comprising providing for specification of a path through the at least one DUT for the test packets and wherein generating and transmitting the test packets includes transmitting the test packets over the specified path through the at least one DUT. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating DUT-topology-specific test results includes generating an indication of DUT coverage by the test packets. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating DUT-topology-specific test results includes generating per-DUT packet statistics for at least the at least one DUT. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7  wherein the per-DUT packet statistics include received and expected packets at the at least one DUT. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7  wherein the per-DUT packet statistics include per-DUT latency statistics. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1  comprising utilizing the DUT-topology-specific test results to generate new test cases or reconfigure existing test cases. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1  wherein the providing, generating, receiving, and using are performed in a laboratory test environment. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1  wherein receiving result packets transmitted from or through the at least one DUT includes receiving the result packets from at least one network tap that feeds the packets to the network equipment test device. 
     
     
       13. A system for specifying and utilizing device under test (DUT) topology information, the system comprising:
 at one or more network equipment test devices:
 a DUT topology specifier configured to provide for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information specifying a plurality of DUTs and interconnections between the DUTs in a data communications network; 
 a test packet generator configured to generate and transmit test packets from a first transmit port of the one or more network equipment test devices destined to a receive port of the one or more network equipment test devices by way of at least one DUT of the plurality of DUTs, which route the test packets according to a network protocol for the data communications network; and 
 a received packet processor configured to receive, at the receive port of the one or more network equipment test devices, result packets transmitted from or through the at least one DUT of the plurality of DUTs in response to the test packets and to use the DUT topology information and the result packets to generate DUT-topology-specific test results. 
 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13  wherein the DUT topology specifier is configured to provide a graphical user interface that allows a test administrator to graphically specify DUTs and interconnections between the DUTs. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 13  wherein the DUT topology specifier is configured to provide for user specification of network tap points between DUTs. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 13  wherein DUT topology specifier is configured to transmit topology discovery messages to at least one DUT, wherein the topology discovery messages include one or more of: packet Internet groper (PING) packets, address resolution protocol (ARP) packets, or simple network management protocol (SNMP) packets. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 13  wherein the DUT topology specifier is configured to provide for user specification of a path through the at least one DUT for the test packets and wherein the test packet generator is configured to transmit packets through the at least one DUT. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 13  wherein the received packet processor is configured to generate an indication of DUT coverage by the test packets. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 13  wherein the received packet processor is configured to generate per-DUT packet statistics. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 19  wherein the per-DUT packet statistics include received and expected packets at each DUT. 
     
     
       21. The system of  claim 19  wherein the per-DUT packet statistics include per-DUT latency statistics. 
     
     
       22. The system of  claim 13  wherein the received packet processor or the DUT topology specifier is configured to utilize the DUT-topology-specific test results to generate new test cases or reconfigure existing test cases. 
     
     
       23. The system of  claim 13  comprising at least one network tap, wherein the received packet processor is configured to receive the result packets transmitted from or through the at least one DUT from the at least one network tap. 
     
     
       24. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by one or more network equipment test devices control the one or more network equipment test devices to perform steps comprising:
 providing for specification or autodiscovery of DUT topology information specifying a plurality of DUTs and interconnections between the DUTs in a data communications network; 
 generating and transmitting test packets from a first transmit port of the one or more network equipment test devices destined to a receive port of the one or more network equipment test devices by way of at least one DUT of the plurality of DUTs, which route the test packets according to a network protocol for the data communications network; 
 receiving, at the receive port of the one or more network equipment test devices, result packets transmitted from or through the at least one DUT of the plurality of DUTs in response to the test packets; and 
 using the DUT topology information and the result packets to generate DUT-topology-specific test results.